A collection of reviews of films from off the beaten path; a travel guide for those who love the cinematic world and want more than the mainstream releases.

Saturday, July 21, 2018

Call Boy (2018) Japan Cuts 2018

A young bartender being drawn into becoming an escort. We watch as he has numerous encounters with various women and takes stock of his life.

Great looking erotic thriller is so damn close to be a full on adult film that you’ll wonder why they didn’t go all the way (no pun intended). It’s also a film that tries to walk the fine line between being deep and meaningful or being about the sex, only to trip over the line and fall on its face. The result is it really isn’t deep and the sex, while good looking, ultimately only has the kink factor going for it. I got bored relatively fast and by the time the film ended after almost two hours I wasn’t really paying much attention to the proceedings. I had been there so many times before with a much more charismatic lead character.

I’m all for erotically charged films but there has to be something there beyond the sex. While the cinematography is ultimately worth the price of admission, the fact that it is tethered to an unremarkable story makes me not want to recommend it. If I wanted to watch an artistic sex film there are plenty of adult directors and cinematographers who are doing similar things without having to pull their punches.

Recommended for people who want arty kinky sex but need an air of respectability.